No. 1 Blue Devils grit and grind its way to 2K Empire Classic Title
434. Final. 73. 473. 81
The Duke Basketball team grit and grinded its way to a 2K Empire Classic Championship after defeated the Georgetown Hoyas on Friday night in Madison Square Garden.
It certainly wasn’t easy but the Duke Blue Devils are the 2019 2K Empire Classic Champions after defeating the Georgetown Hoyas 81-73 on Friday night in Madison Square Garden.
Like in its win over California on Thursday night, No. 1 Duke got off to a slow start, but the tenacious and attacking Hoyas made Duke pay for it, jumping out to a 29-18 lead.
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For the remainder of the first half, Duke would chip away at the Georgetown lead and take a 33-31 lead just before halftime but the Hoyas would respond right before the buzzer, as the two teams went into the half tied at 33.
Within the first ten seconds of the second half, Duke took a lead thanks to a steal and a layup from Tre Jones and never looked backed.
Georgetown would claw and threaten the Blue Devils, not over the mountain Duke build in the final 20 minutes.
Vernon Carey Jr. posted his fourth straight double-double with 20 points and ten rebounds on 8-of-14 shooting despite struggling at the free throw line, only making 4-of-10.
Carey Jr. was sensational once again but it was the freshman from Los Angles, California who led the Blue Devils in points, that being Cassius Stanley.
The L.A. native feels very conformable in the confines of Madison Square Garden, ending his night with 21 points and eight rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting and making all three of his 3-point attempts.
The stellar play of freshmen would continue as Wendell Moore played his best game as a Duke Blue Devil, finishing the night with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block on a scorching 7-of-10 shooting.
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Moore only struggled holding on to the basketball, committing seven of Duke’s 21 turnovers.
Jones finished his night with 13 points, two rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and two blocks and his defense and free throw shooting were key in the second half as the sophomore couldn’t get his shots to fall, going 3-of-13 from the floor.
Senior captain Jack White‘s box score won’t stand out to those who did not watch the game, but the Australian was instrumental in his key hustle plays in addition to his five points and three rebounds.
Joey Baker also hit some big shots throughout the game despite just playing ten minutes, accumulating five points.
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No. 1 Duke will presumably keep the top ranking for the second consecutive week as Mike Krzyzewski will look to now build on his lead over John Wooden for most wins coaching the Associated Press No. 1 team in the country.
Coach K tied Wooden on Thursday night with 217 wins and passed the former UCLA coach on Friday.
The Duke Blue Devils (6-0) will return back to Durham and face Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday, November 26 at 9:00pm EST before the Thanksgiving holiday.